[Satnews] There's no doubt that the digital economy is developing rapidly around the world.

As today's society becomes increasingly connected, vast amounts of data are being transferred around the world and the idea of "big data" is becoming a hot topic. Satellites for communication, remote sensing, navigation and scientific investigations are generating a deluge of information for a variety of applications, all of which must find its way down to the ground efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, projects such as Google's Loon, OneWeb or Facebook's droned-based "Internet in the sky" stand as a testament to the upcoming paradigm shift in high speed communications, fundamentally changing the face of how we stay connected around the world and beyond.

ViaLight's Free-Space Optical Communication Technology represents the kind of solution the INNOspace Masters is looking for in the optoelectronics industry, to bring high-value to the satellite industry. The design of satellites follows, at present, a fixed pattern based on existing and proven technologies and the requirements of the payload or an experiment within the constraints of weight, volume and power available. The advances in optoelectronic components and systems open up a new dimension in designing satellites of the future, incorporating new technologies that will ensure the success of the German and European satellite industry.

Launched under the motto 'Satellite 4.0,' the INNOspace Masters is seeking bleeding edge technologies from the optoelectronics industry to boost the next generation of satellites. For the first time the space industry is awarding prizes to new ideas and concepts that offer innovative solutions and provide fresh perspectives such as from the laser and optoelectronics industry.

The Bavarian company, ViaLight Communications, is already producing communication systems for future networks in space—networks that will keep big data on the move and delivered to its destination as quickly as possible. By bringing wireless laser communication systems out of the laboratory and into the mainstream commercial market, ViaLight is meeting the needs of today's increasingly demanding satellite communications market through its portfolio of small, lightweight systems delivering gigabit data rates over distances of thousands of kilometers.

"ViaLight's Free-Space Optical Communication Technology represents the kind of solution we are looking for in the optoelectronics industry, to bring high-value to the satellite industry" said Thorsten Rudolph, CEO of INNOSpace Masters organizer Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen.

"Only through the use of such cutting edge innovations can we face the challenges of the transitional phase the aerospace industry is experiencing at the moment and ensure long-term innovative capability and competitiveness." said Dr. Gerd Gruppe, Director of DLR Space Administration.

Take your chance to win technological and business-related support services from first-rate partners capable of providing the best possible assistance to turn your concepts into reality. Three prizes are offered, which recognize creative concepts of varying levels of innovation and maturity awarded by the Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Airbus Defense and Space and the ESA BICs in Bavaria and Hesse.